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Chapter 39

Translation

All that came before fulfills the One.
Heaven fulfills the One and is clear.
Earth fulfills the One and is tranquil.
Mind fulfills the One and is effective.
Valley fulfills the One and is full.
Existence fulfills the One and grows.
Rulers fulfill the One and support the empire faithfully.
The One causes.
Heaven without clarity brings dreadful splitting.
Earth without tranquility brings dreadful waste.
Mind without effectiveness brings dreadful stoppage.
Valley without fullness brings dreadful exhaustion.
Existence without growth brings dreadful extinction.
Rulers without faithfulness bring dreadful setbacks.
Hence, the precious take the lowly as the origin.
The high take low as the base.
This, and so rulers call themselves solitary, scant, pathetic
Is this not taking the lowly as a foundation of heresy?
No.
Extreme fame is without fame.
Not to desire jewelry is comparable to beauty.
Jewelry is comparable to stone.

Second Pass: Work in Progress11/03/2013

Issues:

Line 18: I put this line as, Is this not taking the lowly as a foundation of heresy? However, I’m not particularly satisfied with it due to the current accepted meaning of one of the characters, xié (邪) evil; heretical; irregular; <Chin. med.> unhealthy environmental influences that cause disease.

Although, I suppose I could interpret this as the root where two life paths originate—a kind of good vs. evil. Taking the lowly as base can be what propels one down the evil path. To make sure this is not the case here, the next line clearly says, “No! that’s not the case here”. Here are some other words that use xié (邪) to contemplate.

Line 21: I changed Not to desire is comparable to beauty to Not to desire jewelry is comparable to beauty. I initially preferred the former for it addressed desire broadly. Not to desire jewelry is a little more poetic in that one main purpose of jewelry is to enhance one’s beauty. It give a whole new meaning to beauty.

Commentary:

The pinnacle, the pyramid’s peak, is a fearsome lonely place to be, whether born a prince or innately given to ‘claw’ our way to the top. It is much more comfortable and secure to be 2nd in command on the totem pole (or lower). Social climbing is one of nature’s more powerful hoodwinks; it drives those who aim for the top, yet also those who cheer those who reach the top. Tribal instinct draws us to elevate some to the superior position, and look up to them. In that process we unconsciously enjoy the safety net that this provides us. The ‘boss’ (kings, coaches, teachers, doctors, presidents) is taking responsibility; we can relax. Nature works in mysterious ways, eh?

The beauty of the ideal of Nature vs. God is that it is all around us, mundane, anonymous, and shows no preferences─it is impartial to a fault. It is always on the side of the adept(善). God, on the other hand, is the ultimately clever human ideal that reflects our need for a ‘boss’ and doesn’t impede our tendencies for hypocrisy. God can be both the creator of all, and on our side against forces aligned against us. God also performs as the ideal leader, guide, punisher, redeemer, ‘the supreme alpha-male’ for which our tribal hierarchical nature clamors.

If the One is God, ‘he’ takes all the credit and all the blame. It is the same if the One is nature, and perhaps more so. Science’s role is probing nature’s workings. Test, challenge, hypothesis, verify or disprove, all the ways it is responsible for how things are the way they are. Unlike God, nature has no preconceived standing in human culture. Thus, we can question it, probe it, dissect it and put it back together without fear of heresy. Rather than the question of Nature vs. Nurture, think about the question of Nature vs. God. (I suppose I really shouldn’t capitalize it… it is just that nature is like a god for me I guess).

So, nature is ‘self so’, or ‘certainly like that’, or ‘self correct’. I suppose I’d go for ‘self so’. Things just are what they are, naturally so. Finally, here are a few previous posts that delve into various aspects of nature as I see it:

Suggested Revision:

All that came before fulfills the One
Heaven fulfills the One and is clear.
Earth fulfills the One and is tranquil.
Mind fulfills the One and is effective.
Valley fulfills the One and is full.
Existence fulfills the One and grows.
Rulers fulfill the One and support the empire faithfully.
The One causes.

Heaven without clarity brings dreadful splitting.
Earth without tranquility brings dreadful waste.
Mind without effectiveness brings dreadful stoppage.
Valley without fullness brings dreadful exhaustion.
Existence without growth brings dreadful extinction.
Rulers without faithfulness bring dreadful setbacks.
Hence, the precious take the lowly as the origin.
The high take low as the base.

This, and so rulers call themselves solitary, scant, pathetic
Is this not taking the lowly as a foundation of heresy?
No.
Extreme fame is without fame.
Not to desire jewelry is comparable to beauty.
Jewelry is comparable to stone.

First Pass: Chapter of the Week02/18/2010

D.C. Lao translates this chapter’s final sentence as, ‘Not wishing to be one among many like jade, Nor to be aloof like stone‘. Does this convey the meaning of the original? Compare D.C. Lao’s with the literal translation of the characters and/or my translation (below). Although, I don’t think it matters much. When you read either from a ‘taoist’ point of view, you will likely see a ‘taoist’ message, provided both are well written (i.e., grammar and such). The ‘best’ one will be the one that says best what you want to hear. Naturally, this holds true regardless of translation accuracy. Simply put: What we think we see is a result of what we want to see. Just as ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, so also is ‘meaning is in the mind of the beholder’. (No wonder I have to say, in the end, my mind is that of a fool – how blank! Nevertheless…)

We use D.C. Lao’s more readable translation at the Sunday meeting. Personally, I see ‘Not wishing to be one among many like jade’ as portraying our hierarchical drive for social status. Each person feels special (i.e., the ego illusion) which ironically makes this a ‘one among many’ reality. This can only add to any indifference one may have about ‘keeping up with the Joneses’, and instead nudge one to ‘be aloof like stone’ (and perhaps also gain a competitive edge in the process).

I imagine that righteous purists, of every stripe, fit this ‘be aloof like stone’ model. Personally, never being particularly drawn to the cultural mainstream, this ‘aloof like stone’ turned out to be a principle by-path for me. Naturally enough, I never found contentment in being more aloof like stone, nor in longing to be one among many like jade. That makes sense, of course, because these are symptoms of underlying imbalance (i.e., symptoms reveal imbalance and/or mask imbalance, but never eliminate imbalance).

Finding a balance between the two is the only way that works. Like maintaining physical balance, in a head stand for example, constant vigilance is essential. Of course, this is an ‘easier said than done’ ideal. Still, at least I know what to head for. Often in existential matters, merely knowing the way is more than sufficient. Knowing this, the rest takes care of itself; a journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one’s feet. What happens beneath one’s feet now is far more crucial than getting anywhere; the getting there is how we live out our days.

Existence fulfills the One and grows, and so on, parallels my view that everything in existence rests on a symptom of something deeper. Calling ‘that something’ the One is appropriate. For one thing, as soon as you name ‘that something’, it then becomes a symptom of something One level deeper. The One is that indistinct and shadowy aspect that has yet to be named. I suppose this is like a house of mirrors, with the One obscured by the last mirror. The practical value in knowing that existence fulfills the One and grows lies not in understanding what the One actually is, but rather in knowing that whatever you see is resting on a deeper base cause. The mind can only identify and name the surface, the appearance, of things. The trap lies in believing that the surface of which you are aware is the whole picture, when in fact, it is only the tip of the iceberg. The more you understand that existence fulfills the One and grows, the less likely you can become swept up and trapped by what you think that you know. This sounds horribly abstract to me, but that’s only because words don’t lend themselves to describing such matters. I suppose it is the challenge of tackling the impossible that keeps me trying and typing.

The high takes low as the base. This, and so rulers call themselves solitary, scant, pathetic. I see two ways to interpret this: (1) They are solitary, scant, pathetic because they are kings, or (2) they are kings because they are solitary, scant, pathetic. For me, the base cause here is feeling solitary, scant, pathetic. In other words, feeling solitary, scant, pathetic drives one to be ‘king’ of something. The high takes low as the base points to the process. The low is the foundation and the power house that drives the high. As they say, “nature abhors a vacuum”; the silent and void are the mother of all action.